How to Cut those Gosh Darned Big Blocks!

Bramble Berry’s Economy Bulk Melt & Pour Soap Base comes in one big block. This is puzzling and confusing to some new soapers. Adding to the mystery, the soap is poured from many feet in the air, into a bag in a box. This height factor creates thick layer of tiny bubbles on surface of the soap base. The bubbles make the soap appear opaque at first glance – and that’s in addition to the head-scratcher about how to cut the block! However, with the economical price per pound (1.25 – $1.50 per pound), it’s worth the extra effort to cut the soap yourself.

This is how I work with the Bulk Base:

1. Open the box

2. Pull, tug, gravity drop, plop and otherwise ease the soap out of the box.

3. Flip the soap over and peel open the bag

4. Scrape the foamy bubbles from the surface of the soap. When melted, these foamy bubbles create an unexpected frothy look in the finished soap.

5. Hack away at the soap base. You can use a heated knife, a butcher’s knife, a scraper/cutter or even a machete. Whatever method you use, be careful! Oily, soapy hands can easily slip on a cutting utensil, causing unintended consequences (and no one wants your blood in their soap anyways). You can cut just what you need to cut or chop up the entire block. Sometimes, the plastic bag gets interwoven into the soap around the bottom edges. Just make sure to pull it out and not melt the plastic.

6. Put all the pieces back into the plastic bag, push the air out of it, and seal it with a plastic tie. If the soap is not exposed to air, it stays fresher for longer.

There are probably other ways to work with this base but that’s the way I do it. If you have any hints, feel free to post a helpful comment to the benefit of your fellow soapers.

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32 Comments

I thought I’d share this blog post I wrote describing my experience cutting Bramble Berry’s premium soap block. It’s really not too hard. If you go through a lot of glycerin base, I think you’ll find this block to be a good investment.

Melt & Pour doesn’t have to cure (that’s Cold Process Soaps!!). Everything depends on the recipe that you are making. With a simple Melt and Pour recipe, it can take as little as a few hours to harden. With a bigger recipe, it could take longer to harden.

Here are some great video tutorials for beginning with Melt & Pour Soaping!

I bought some molds online, and they happened to be one whole mold with only the guide of the individual soaps marked at the bottom but not divided to the top, does anyone know how can I cut them so they do not look crocket or lop sided?
Thanks.

Is this for Melt and Pour soap? This is just a function of viscosity. If you pour your soap at a cooler temperature, the soap will suspend the herbs better. I believe this episode of SoapQueen.TV explored that: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3VbeNl1Nqg It might be helpful for you to watch =)

i have thought long about what i could use to more “safely” cut up these blocks of soap….i now break it down into smaller chunks, carefully, and then i put them into an industrial french fry cutter (half inch blades) that i mounted on the wall. i can cut these soap chunks up into meltable pieces in no time. they fall right into a clean container and i just melt the long soap fries in my glass measuring cup containers. since i have carpel tunnel in both hands, this helps a lot!

I actually did try an electric knife once….and it was a mess! I cut the soap into manageable blocks then get the kids involved with non sharp choppers. They still must be careful and so far, no accidents. We chop and measure, bag and label. Once the hard work is over, the fun of making the soap begins!

What are folks using the Borax for? We use it here to make Flubber for the kids…

1. Anyone ever try an electric knife? You know, the one up in the high cupboard used only for the Christmas Turkey. Just a thought.

2. Have no idea what the Soap Queen will say about “expiration date on soap,” but having just had a major discussion with our Japanese importer of our Noble Formula soap for psoriatic or eczematoid (dry) skin on the subject I am sensitive. STUFF CHANGES. That is the 2nd law of thermodynamics. That does NOT mean it has gone “BAD.” If soap were to go a little “off” in color or scent – so what? You are going to color and scent it anyway – It will NEVER become “dangerous.”

The same, by the way goes for your medicine tablets – may loose slight potency in theory (a lot for nitroglycerin – the only example I can think of), but none of them become dangerous. A moments reflection would tell you their is no science behind the expiration date your pharmacist slaps on his label – always 12 months from purchase – no mater what the pill, who made it, or how long it has been on their own shelves. It is just convenient, increases sales, and is self-protective in our litigious society.

This was long but as the “Queen FATHER” – I can take some liberties. R. Faiola, MD

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